What does it mean to have resilient data? This term is increasingly used when considering the main characteristics that the data handled by organizations must have. Given the growing cybersecurity insecurity and the multiplying, constantly evolving threats, ensuring resilient data has become essential. Let’s explore the term in depth.
What is resilient data? Let's revisit the second term, resilience. It comes from the English word resilience, which in turn comes from the Latin resiliens, resilientis, meaning to spring back. Looking at the Spanish definition, one of the meanings according to the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) refers to the ability of a material, mechanism, or system to recover its initial state after being subjected to a disturbance.
Now, in terms of data, according to IBM, resilient data refers to the availability of data to users or applications. Furthermore, data resilience ensures that businesses can maintain operational continuity in the face of any unexpected circumstance or disruption, such as a cyberattack.
Resilient data can be achieved through various mechanisms. These include a standardized approach to data management as a whole, with appropriate cybersecurity mechanisms to prevent unauthorized manipulation. Some common methods are:
- Backups
- Data duplication
- Synchronous and asynchronous replication
- Off-site redundancy
The choice of a particular system often depends on the data recovery time and the ease of managing storage, updating, maintenance, and security. However, the common denominator among these systems is to reduce the vulnerability of the data and the organization as a whole.
Characteristics of Resilient Data
- Data organizada
One of the fundamental and most evident principles is that for data to be resilient, it must be organized. This process involves a deep understanding of the data being managed and the processes that require it, as well as the type of data produced by each area of the organization. By organizing both incoming data and the data produced by various operations, it becomes possible to create standardized systems of information, enabling it to be used by multiple areas simultaneously without processing issues.
2. Critical Areas Identified
Based on understanding the data handled by the organization, it is also essential to identify which data is crucial for the operation’s success. In other words, a priority must be established regarding the importance of different types of data. This should be done considering both business continuity and the protection of sensitive client data. This approach allows for better data management and ensures a more specific security system is in place to provide secure backups and recovery mechanisms in case of contingencies.
3. Backup and Recovery Process
Resilient data is characterized by having an established protocol for generating secure backups and an appropriate recovery mechanism. This ensures that the data remains secure and resistant to potential cyberattacks or accidental disruptions. The effectiveness of managing these systems determines not only the data resilience but also the overall resilience of the business and its operations.
4. Knowledge of the Data Lifecycle
It is crucial to understand the lifecycle of the data managed within an organization to ensure its resilience at every stage. This means knowing where the data comes from, how it is obtained, how it is managed, how it is processed, where it is stored, and whether the procedure for destroying sensitive data is in place. With this knowledge, the resilience of the data can be ensured while it is being used and stored. This guarantees that all organizational processes are completed successfully.
5. Supervision
The resilience of data is also tied to continuous supervision or monitoring of processes. This allows for detecting and correcting any issues so that data is always available and in optimal condition for use within the company. This process helps optimize operations when necessary and ensures timely prevention and resolution of problems.
Why is it Important?
Having resilient data is crucial for three main reasons:
- The Growing Threat of Cyberattacks
Due to the increase in various types of cyberattacks, having resilient data is essential. In the first half of 2022, FortiGuard Labs, a cybersecurity expert organization, reported the emergence of 5,266 new ransomware variants. Ransomware has attacked businesses of all sizes, as well as governments and officials managing sensitive information, often leading to operational shutdowns or massive ransom payments for data recovery.
2. Preventing Data Loss
Resilient data is data that does not get lost due to a cyberattack or any other eventuality, such as human error. The ability to easily recover data ensures the continuity of the organization. It also helps reduce costs for the company, whether by reducing the impact of cyberattacks or by quickly recovering lost data. Having a specialized system allows for smoother operations and instills confidence in the organization, both for its employees and customers.
3. Protecting the Company’s Reputation
Having a data resilience system can help enhance or maintain the company’s reputation. This is because incidental failures or cyberattacks will not affect customers, and services will not experience interruptions. This sense of security and trust tends to attract potential customers who seek reliable services that do not cause disruptions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, resilient data can make a difference in how businesses operate and how they are perceived in the market. Having contingency and disaster recovery systems in place to keep a company afloat is one of today’s main concerns, especially considering that our society has just gone through a pandemic that forced the evolution of systems and the search for resilience in all possible areas.
In this context, many organizations opt for specialized systems that manage the resilience of their data, leveraging the various available mechanisms on the market. This is due to the growing threats and the need to ensure internal processes and customer-facing services. Recognizing the importance of data in business growth, operations, and decision-making drives the search for better and more effective mechanisms to ensure resilience.
EN 
ES